As is well known and understood, we presently live in an age where environmental issues are becoming more and more important, and the consciousness of them is increasing. One of the areas which has generated almost the greatest amount of attention in recent months has been the health-care industry, where the prod used are typically disposable in nature, and discarded by the health practitioner without a second's thought. However, as more and more of these products wash-up on the shoreline, and with the ravages of AIDS, increased attention is being given to thoughts of re-design so as to make as many of these products durable and reusable where appropriate.
One such product that is gaining a substantial degree of interest in this regard are the incontinent underpads used in hospitals, nursing facilities, old-age centers and private homes for patients who require an absorbent covering for their bedding. Such products have been introduced into the marketplace as of late, but problems have been experienced in their use as the prevalent construction employed has not proven sufficiently adequate to make those products truly durable and reusable. Analysis of the limitations has shown that a major cause of the difficulty resides in the fact that the absorbent layer--i.e., that which is closer to the individual--and the barrier layer--i.e., that which is adjacent to the bedding--are only held together on their sides, and by means of a simple sewing stitch.
While the design of such incontinent underpads is perfectly acceptable in instances where those pads are going to be disposed of, in those instances where they are to be washed--as in a commercial machine for hospitals, nursing facilities and old-age homes--and then dried for re-use, there has been found to be an uneven shrinkage between the absorbent layer and the barrier layer. This has been traced to the fact that the absorbing layer is most oftentimes composed of a non-woven felt, which tends to undergo a greater degree of shrinkage than is undergone by the materials which compose the barrier layer. As a result, the unequal size of the two layers which follow causes a substantial amount of "creasing" of the underpad, which only gets worse as additional washings follow, thus making the underpad more-and-more uncomfortable for the patient to employ.
It is an object of the invention, therefore, to modify the incontinent underpad construction so as to provide a dimensional stability to the absorbing and barrier layers which comprise the underpad, yet without affecting the absorbency ability of the pad to urine and other fluids, or the leakage preventing capability of the barrier layer.